Wagner chief's plane 'brought down by bombs smuggled inside crate of fine wine'

24 August 2023 , 07:36

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Yevgeny Prigozhin is said to be among those dead in the plane crash (Image: Social media/e2w)

The doomed plane of the Wagner boss was brought down by bombs smuggled in a wine crate, it's claimed.

Wagner mercenaries are threatening to march on Moscow after reports claim Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a coup against Russian president Vladimir Putin in June, is among the dead in a plane crash. Telegram channels linked to the warlord announced his death on Friday night shortly after news of the crash.

Russian officials also say Prigozhin was on the plane which crashed in a field just outside of the capital. Ten on board have died, with the Federal Air Transport Agency publishing a list of names of those believed to have perished.

Witnesses heard a loud bang before they saw the jet 'fall from the sky' in a burning fireball. Images of the wreckage show the burning plane in a field in the Tver region as plumes of black smoke rise above the scene, visible from miles away.

Russian officials also say Prigozhin was on the plane which crashed in a field just outside of Moscow (AP)

The number 795 can be made out on parts of the scrap, which matches the number of the plane linked to Prigozhin. As well as Prigozhin, his deputy Dmitry Utkin is also named. However, rumours are now swirling that this is Prigozhin's bid to fake his own death after he was exiled to Belarus after backing down on his march to Moscow just two months prior.

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Keir Giles, from the London-based think tank Chatham House, has warned: "It's been announced that a passenger by the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board - but it is also known that multiple individuals have changed their name to Yevgeny Prigozhin, as part of his efforts to obfuscate his travels. Let’s not be surprised if he pops up shortly in a new video from Africa."

Although the cause of the crash is unclear, Russian social media channels is awash with speculation that a case of fine wine onboard may in fact have been a bomb in disguise. Putin is yet to make a public statement about the crash and last night attended a WW2 concert and handed out military honours in Kursk.

Huge plumes of smoke can be seen for miles away rising from the crash site (Social media/e2w)

He is said to have put his former war chief on the 'kill list' following the failed coup. But rumours of Prigozhin faking his own death continue to swirl after a second aircraft, with links to Wagner, was seen on flight radar zigzagging over the same Tzer region, 60 miles north of the capital.

The 62-year-old has upped his security and kept a low profile in a careful move since his march on Moscow failed. Sources close to him say that while the aircraft that crashed did belong to him, he usually flew on another plane.

This would not be the first time he had succeeded in disappearing: he was officially declared dead in Africa in 2019, before re-emerging before Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. A Wagner address last night, reported by the Sun, stated: "We directly say that we suspect the Kremline officials led by Putin of an attempt to kill him!

Wagner private army mercenaries released a video following the crash threatening to march on Moscow (Social media/e2w)

"If the information about Prigozhin's death is confirmed, we will organise a second March of Justice on Moscow!" Meanwhile armed men claiming to be from the unit warned Putin in a video shared online: "There's a lot of talk right now about what the Wagner Group will do. We can tell you one thing. We are getting started, get ready for us."

A Telegram channel thought to be linked to Prigozhin said their leader had died, saying he had been 'killed as a result of actions by traitors of Russia '. A post described him as a 'hero of Russia, a true patriot of his Motherland'.

As well as Prigozhin and Utkin, other passengers said to have died include Valeriy Chekalov, who has previously been sanctioned by the US due to his links to the Wagner group. "A private jet flying from Moscow to St Petersburg crashed," Russian State TV Rossiya24 said. "Ten people were killed. Yevgeny Prigozhin was among the passengers."

Hannah Kane